System for Combined Input Output Module and Zero Power Optical Disk Drive with Advanced Integration and Power

ABSTRACT

An information handling system includes a module bay, a voltage control switch, and a controller. The module bay configured to receive a module, and to connect the module to the information handling system. The voltage control switch is in communication with the module bay, and is configured to provide power to the module bay. The controller is in communication with the module bay and with the voltage control switch. The controller is configured to detect a type of the module connected to the module bay, and to send a power control override signal to the voltage control switch when the type is a specific type, wherein the power control override signal causes the voltage control switch to disregard a power down signal received for the module bay and continue to provide power to the module bay.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure generally relates to information handling systems, andmore particularly relates to a system for combined input output moduleand zero power optical disk drive with advanced integration and power.

BACKGROUND

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option is an information handling system. An information handlingsystem generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicatesinformation or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Becausetechnology and information handling needs and requirements can varybetween different applications, information handling systems can alsovary regarding what information is handled, how the information ishandled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, andhow quickly and efficiently the information can be processed, stored, orcommunicated. The variations in information handling systems allow forinformation handling systems to be general or configured for a specificuser or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airlinereservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. Inaddition, information handling systems can include a variety of hardwareand software components that can be configured to process, store, andcommunicate information and can include one or more computer systems,data storage systems, and networking systems.

An information handling system may include multiple input/outputmodules, such as a peripheral component interface express (PCIe), aserial advanced technology attachment (SATA), and an optical disk drive(ODD). The information handling system also may include a controlcircuit to provide power/voltage control of the ODD in a module bay ofthe information handling system. The control circuit can support zeropower optical disk drives (ZPODD), such that the control circuit canpower down the ODD during periods of inactivity in the ODD. While theODD is powered down, the control circuit can receive a power on signalfrom the ODD indicating that a user is requesting power for an operationin the ODD, such as ejecting the optical disk. Thus, the control circuitcan power down the ODD disk drive during periods of inactivity andprovide power back to the ODD for operations requested while the ODD ispowered down.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,elements illustrated in the Figures have not necessarily been drawn toscale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements areexaggerated relative to other elements. Embodiments incorporatingteachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respectto the drawings presented herein, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a zero power optical disk drive modulesystem of an information handling system;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of method for overriding power control from asouth bridge to a module bay in the information handling system; and

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a general computer system.

The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicatessimilar or identical items.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The following description in combination with the Figures is provided toassist in understanding the teachings disclosed herein. The followingdiscussion will focus on specific implementations and embodiments of theteachings. This focus is provided to assist in describing the teachingsand should not be interpreted as a limitation on the scope orapplicability of the teachings. However, other teachings can certainlybe utilized in this application.

FIG. 1 shows a control system 100 for a multifunction expansion bayincluding an optical disk drive (ODD), which can include a zero poweroptical disk drive (ZPODD) support for an information handling system.For purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system mayinclude any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operableto compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate,switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, orutilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business,scientific, control, entertainment, or other purposes. For example, aninformation handling system may be a personal computer, a PDA, aconsumer electronic device, a network server or storage device, a switchrouter or other network communication device, or any other suitabledevice and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, andprice. The information handling system may include memory, one or moreprocessing resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) or hardwareor software control logic. Additional components of the informationhandling system may include one or more storage devices, one or morecommunications ports for communicating with external devices as well asvarious input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, anda video display. The information handling system may also include one ormore buses operable to transmit communications between the varioushardware components.

The control system 100 includes a south bridge 102, a module bay 104, adifferential multiplexer 106, an embedded controller 108, a voltagecontrol switch 110, and a voltage reference 112. The south bridge 102 isin communication with the module bay 104 via a reference clock 114 and aZPODD input bus 116. The south bridge 102 is in communication with thecontrol switch 110 via a ZPODD output bus 118. The south bridge 102 cancommunicate with the differential multiplexer 106 via a peripheralcomponent interface express (PCIe) bus 120 and/or a serial advancedtechnology attachment (SATA) bus 122. The module bay 104 can communicatewith the differential multiplexer 106 via a PCIe/SATA bus 124 and/or abus select line 126. The module bay 104 is in communication with theembedded controller 108 via a system management bus (SMBus) 128, and aninput/output (I/O) module type bus 130. The embedded controller 108 isin communication with the voltage control switch 110 via theinput/output module type bus 130, and a power control override bus 132.The module bay 104 can receive power from the voltage control switch 110via a Vcc power line 134.

The module bay 104 is configured to connect the control system 100 ofthe information handling system to one of a number of modules, such as aPCIe module 136, a SATA module 138, an optical disk drive (ODD) 140, orthe like. The PCIe module 136, the SATA module 138, and the ODD 140 canall utilize the same type of connector to connect to the module bay 104,such as an interface connector 142. The interface connector 142 can be aslimline connector. The PCIe module 136, the SATA module 138, and theODD 140 can each have substantially the same pin layout, such that thepins on the modules line up with the connections on the module bay 104,such as the interface connector 142. However, even though each of themodules can have substantially the same pin layout, the pins of themodules can have different uses and/or voltage requirements. Forexample, each of the modules 136, 138, and 140 can use the same pin asthe power supply input for the module but the required supply voltagecan vary between modules.

In one embodiment, the PCIe module 136 and the SATA module 138 canrequire a continuous voltage supply, and the ODD 140 can be a ZPODDmodule such that the OOD can be powered down when the south bridge 102detects inactivity from the module. Also, the other pins on the modulecan be utilized to communicate different information to and from thesouth bridge 102 depending on the module 136, 138, or 140. Thus, if eachmodule 136, 138, or 140 communicated with the south bridge 102 over thesame bus when each module was individually connected to the module bay104, the south bridge may not be able to communicate with each of themodules because the bus may identify the information incorrectly to thesouth bridge. Therefore, each module 136, 138, and 140 may require aseparate bus for communicating with the south bridge 102.

Therefore, each module capable of be connected into the module bay 104may need a compatible bus for communication with the south bridge 102.Each of the modules can transmit signals to the differential multiplexer106 over the same communication bus, the PCIe/SATA bus 114, because thedifferential multiplexer 106 does not process the signals. When a moduleis connected to the module bay 104, the differential multiplexer 106 canreceive a module identification signal identifying the type of themodule via the bus select line 126. The module identification signal canbe a strobe signal that the differential multiplexer 106 can use toselect either the PCIe bus 120 or the SATA bus 122 for communicationbetween the module bay 104 and the south bridge 102. Thus, thedifferential multiplexer 106 can connect the PCIe/SATA bus 114 with thePCIe bus 120 or with the SATA bus 122 based on the module identificationsignal received via the bus select line 126. Thus, a signal can betransmitted from the module bay 104 over the PCIe/SATA bus 114, in thedifferential multiplexer 106, and then to the south bridge 102 over thebus that corresponds with the module located within the module bay.

Upon detecting the presence of a module, via the input/output moduletype bus 130, the embedded controller 108 can determine whether themodule was previously connected to the module bay 104. If so, theembedded controller 108 can obtain the information previously determinedabout the module, such as the type of module. In one embodiment, thepreviously determined information can be stored in a local memory withinthe embedded controller 108 and/or within an external memory incommunication with the embedded controller. However, if the module hasnot been previously connected to the module bay 104, the embeddedcontroller 108 can determine information about the module via a moduleinformation signal from the module bay 104 via the I/O module type bus130. The information about the module can include the type of themodule, a class of the module, or the like.

When the embedded controller 108 has determined the type of module, theembedded controller may determine whether to override a ZPODD powercontrol of the module bay 104 from the south bridge 102 to the voltagecontrol switch 110 based on the type of module connected to the modulebay 104. If the embedded controller detects that the type of the moduleis a ZPODD enabled module, the embedded controller can determine not todisable the ZPODD power control from the south bridge 102 of the modulebay 104. For example, if the module connected to the module bay 104 isthe ODD 140, the embedded controller 108 can determine not to overridethe south bridge 102 power control of the module bay. The south bridge102 preferably controls the power to the module bay 104 via the voltagecontrol switch 110, the ZPODD input bus 116, and the ZPODD output bus118. Thus, when the south bridge 102 detects that the ODD 140 is notactively performing read/write operations, the south bridge can send apower down signal for the module bay 102 to the voltage control switch110 via the ZPODD output bus 118. The power down signal can be a strobesignal. The voltage control switch 110 can then power down the modulebay 104 and the ODD 140 via the Vcc power line 134 between the voltagecontrol switch and the module bay. In an embodiment, the south bridge102 can determine that the ODD 140 is inactive based on a signal fromthe module bay 104 over the ZPODD input bus 116.

When the module bay 104 and the ODD 140 have been powered down, themodule bay may receive a power on request signal from the ODD requestingpower to perform an operation, such as ejecting a disk within the ODD.For example, a user can press an eject button on the outside of the ODD140, and in response the ODD can send the power on request signal to themodule bay 104, which in turn can send a similar power on request to thesouth bridge 102 via the voltage control switch 110 and the ZPODD inputbus 116. The power on signal can be a strobe signal. The south bridge102 can then send a power on signal to the voltage control switch 110via the ZPODD output bus 118. The power on signal can be a strobesignal. The power on signal can cause the voltage control switch 110 toprovide the module bay 104 and the ODD 140 with power over the Vcc powerline 134.

Alternatively, when the embedded controller 108 has determined that thetype of the module is not a ZPODD enabled device, the embedded controlmay override the ZPODD power control of the module bay 104 from thesouth bridge 102 to the voltage control switch 110. For example, if themodule connected to the module bay 104 is the PCIe module 136 or theSATA module 138, the embedded controller 108 can determine to overridethe south bridge 102 power control of the module bay. Thus, when theembedded controller 108 determines that the PCIe module 136 or the SATAmodule 138 is connected to the module bay 104, the embedded controller108 can send a voltage override signal to the voltage control switch viathe voltage control override bus 132. The voltage override signal can bea strobe signal, and can cause the voltage control switch 110 tocontinually provide the necessary voltage to the module bay 104 whetheror not the power down or power up strobes are received on the ZPODDoutput bus 118.

The PCIe module 136 and the SATA module 138 may not provide informationto the south bridge 102 via the ZPODD input bus 116. Thus, if the PCIemodule 136 or the SATA module 138 is connected to the module bay 104,the south bridge 102 may determine that no active ODD operation is beingperformed and can send the power down signal for the module bay 102 tothe voltage control switch 110 via the ZPODD output bus 118. However,the voltage override signal from embedded controller 108 can prevent thevoltage control switch 110 from powering down the module bay 104. Thesouth bridge 102 may not recognize that the PCIe module 136 or the SATAmodule 138 is connected to the module bay 104, such that the ZPODDoperation of the south bridge can always be to power down the modulebay. Therefore, the override signal from the embedded controller 108 isutilized to prevent the module bay 104 from being powered down when thePCIe module 136 or the SATA module 138 is connected to the module bay.Thus, information on the PCIe module 136 or the SATA module 138 can beretained during periods of inactivity for the modules.

In an embodiment, the control system 100 can be set up so that the ODD140 is the default module for the embedded controller 108. In thissituation, when the embedded controller 108 detects either the PCIemodule 136 or the SATA module 138, the embedded controller can send thevoltage override signal to override the south bridge 102 power controlof the module bay 104. In another embodiment, the control system 100 canbe set up so that the default module is either the PCIe module 136 orthe SATA module 138 for the embedded controller 108. In this situation,when the embedded controller 108 detects the ODD 140, the embeddedcontroller can stop sending the voltage override signal to the southbridge 102, such that the south bridge power control of the module bay104 can be executed by the voltage control switch 110. In an embodiment,the south bridge 102, the embedded controller 108, and the controlswitch 110 can be incorporated into a single device, such as amicrocontroller, a chipset, a power management integrated circuit, orthe like.

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a method 200 for overriding power controlfrom a south bridge to a module bay in an information handling system.At block 202, a module is detected as being connected to the module bay.The module can be a PCIe module, a SATA module, an ODD module, or thelike. A determination is made whether the module is the ODD module atblock 204. If the module is the ODD module, the method advances to block208 as described below, otherwise a voltage override signal is sent to avoltage control switch at block 206.

At block 208, a power down signal is received from a south bridge. Thepower down signal can be in response to a period of inactivity from themodule in the module bay. At block 210, a determination is made whetherthe voltage override signal has been received at the voltage controlswitch. If the voltage override signal has been received, the voltagecontrol switch continues to provide power to the module bay and themodule at block 212. However, if the voltage override signal has notbeen received, the voltage control switch powers down the module bay andthe module at block 214.

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative embodiment of a general computer system 300in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.The computer system 300 can include a set of instructions that can beexecuted to cause the computer system to perform any one or more of themethods or computer based functions disclosed herein. The computersystem 300 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected suchas using a network, to other computer systems or peripheral devices.

In a networked deployment, the computer system may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 300 can alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wirelesstelephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner,a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, aweb appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machinecapable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise)that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In a particularembodiment, the computer system 300 can be implemented using electronicdevices that provide voice, video or data communication. Further, whilea single computer system 300 is illustrated, the term “system” shallalso be taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems thatindividually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructionsto perform one or more computer functions.

The computer system 300 may include a processor 302 such as a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both.Moreover, the computer system 300 can include a main memory 304 and astatic memory 306 that can communicate with each other via a bus 308. Asshown, the computer system 300 may further include a video display unit310, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emittingdiode (OLED), a flat panel display, a solid state display, or a cathoderay tube (CRT). Additionally, the computer system 300 may include aninput device 312, such as a keyboard, and a cursor control device 314,such as a mouse. The computer system 300 can also include a disk driveunit 316, a signal generation device 318, such as a speaker or remotecontrol, and a network interface device 320.

In a particular embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 3, the disk drive unit316 may include a computer-readable medium 322 in which one or more setsof instructions 324 such as software, can be embedded. Further, theinstructions 324 may embody one or more of the methods or logic asdescribed herein. In a particular embodiment, the instructions 324 mayreside completely, or at least partially, within the main memory 304,the static memory 306, and/or within the processor 302 during executionby the computer system 300. The main memory 304 and the processor 302also may include computer-readable media. The network interface device320 can provide connectivity to a network 326, e.g., a wide area network(WAN), a local area network (LAN), or other network.

In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations such asapplication specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can be constructed to implement one or more ofthe methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system encompasses software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limitedembodiment, implementations can include distributed processing,component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing.Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionality as describedherein.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium thatincludes instructions 324 or receives and executes instructions 324responsive to a propagated signal, so that a device connected to anetwork 326 can communicate voice, video or data over the network 326.Further, the instructions 324 may be transmitted or received over thenetwork 326 via the network interface device 320.

While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, theterm “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiplemedia, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associatedcaches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capableof storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution bya processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or moreof the methods or operations disclosed herein.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be arandom access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally,the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capturecarrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmissionmedium. A digital file attachment to an e-mail or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives may be considered a distributionmedium that is equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, thedisclosure is considered to include any one or more of acomputer-readable medium or a distribution medium and other equivalentsand successor media, in which data or instructions may be stored.

Although only a few exemplary embodiments have been described in detailabove, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that manymodifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments withoutmaterially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of theembodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all suchmodifications are intended to be included within the scope of theembodiments of the present disclosure as defined in the followingclaims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to coverthe structures described herein as performing the recited function andnot only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.

1. An information handling system comprising: a module bay configured toreceive a module, and to connect the module to the information handlingsystem; a voltage control switch in communication with the module bay,the voltage control switch configured to provide power to the modulebay; and a controller in communication with the module bay and with thevoltage control switch, the controller configured to detect a type ofthe module connected to the module bay, and to send a power controloverride signal to the voltage control switch when the type is aspecific type, wherein the power control override signal causes thevoltage control switch to disregard a power down signal received for themodule bay and continue to provide power to the module bay.
 2. Theinformation handling system of claim 1 further comprising: a southbridge in communication with the voltage control switch, the southbridge configured to detect a period of inactivity of the moduleconnected to the module bay, and to send the power down signal to thevoltage control switch when the period of inactivity is detected.
 3. Theinformation handling system of claim 1 further comprising: a voltagesupply in communication with the voltage control switch, the voltagesupply configured to provide a voltage to the voltage control switch. 4.The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the module isselected from a group consisting of a peripheral component interfaceexpress module, a serial advanced technology attachment module, and anoptical disk drive module.
 5. The information handling system of claim 1wherein the specific type is selected from a group consisting of aperipheral component interface express module and a serial advancedtechnology attachment module.
 6. The information handling system ofclaim 1 wherein the controller is an embedded controller.
 7. Aninformation handling system comprising: a module bay; a module incommunication with the module bay, the module configured to providestorage for the information handling system; a voltage control switch incommunication with the module bay, the voltage control switch configuredto provide power to the module bay; and a controller in communicationwith the module bay and with the voltage control switch, the controllerconfigured to detect a type of the module connected to the module bay,and to send a power control override signal to the voltage controlswitch when the type is a specific type, wherein the power controloverride signal causes the voltage control switch to disregard a powerdown signal received for the module bay and continue to provide power tothe module bay.
 8. The information handling system of claim 7 furthercomprising: a south bridge in communication with the voltage controlswitch, the south bridge configured to detect a period of inactivity ofthe module connected to the module bay, and to send the power downsignal to the voltage control switch when the period of inactivity isdetected.
 9. The information handling system of claim 7 furthercomprising: a voltage supply in communication with the voltage controlswitch, the voltage supply configured to provide a voltage to thevoltage control switch.
 10. The information handling system of claim 7wherein the module is selected from a group consisting of a peripheralcomponent interface express module, a serial advanced technologyattachment module, and an optical disk drive module.
 11. The informationhandling system of claim 7 wherein the specific type is selected from agroup consisting of a peripheral component interface express module anda serial advanced technology attachment module.
 12. The informationhandling system of claim 7 wherein the controller is an embeddedcontroller.
 13. The information handling system of claim 7 wherein themodule connects to the module bay via a slimline connector.
 14. A methodcomprising: detecting a connection of a module to a module bay;detecting whether the module is a specific type; sending a poweroverride signal to a voltage control switch when the module is thespecific type; and continuing to provide power to the module bay and themodule when the power override signal is received at the voltage controlswitch, otherwise powering down the module bay and the module.
 15. Themethod of claim 14 further comprising: receiving a power down signal forthe module bay; and disregarding the power down signal for the modulebay when the power override signal has been received at the voltagecontrol switch.
 16. The method of claim 14 wherein the module isselected from a group consisting of a peripheral component interfaceexpress module, a serial advanced technology attachment module, and anoptical disk drive module.
 17. The method of claim 14 wherein thespecific type is selected from a group consisting of a peripheralcomponent interface express module and a serial advanced technologyattachment module.
 18. The method of claim 14 wherein the module bay isconnected to the module via an interface connector.
 19. The method ofclaim 18 wherein the interface connector is a slimline connector.